Saturday, September 17

62 Syrian soldiers killed in U.S. airstrike on military base, allowing ISIS to advance

CENTCOM says it was a mistake. The mistake was a big help to Islamic State, leading Russia to call for an emergency meeting at the United Nations tonight.

The U.S. military says it halted an air raid against the Islamic State group in eastern Syria after being told by Russia that it might have struck Syrian government forces.

The U.S. Central Command statement was issued late Saturday, after Syria and Russia said the U.S.-led coalition had struck a Syrian military base in Deir el-Zour that is surrounded by IS militants, enabling them to advance.

The statement says "the airstrike was halted immediately when coalition officials were informed by Russian officials that it was possible the personnel and vehicles targeted were part of the Syrian military."

It says "coalition forces would not intentionally strike a known Syrian military unit."

In the following report AP 'live blogs' the major events of the day in the Syrian War:

The United Nations Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting for Saturday night at Russia's request to discuss a U.S. airstrike that Moscow says struck Syrian government troops battling the Islamic State group.

The council meeting was scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. (2330 GMT).

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says Moscow is demanding "full and detailed explanations about whether this was deliberate support of the Islamic State or another mistake."

Zakharova was quoted by the state news agency Tass as saying that "after today's attack on the Syrian army, we come to the terrible conclusion that the White House is defending the Islamic State."

The U.S. military says it halted an air raid against IS in eastern Syria after it was informed by Russia that it might have struck Syrian troops. If confirmed, it would be the first American strike on President Bashar Assad's forces in the five-year-old conflict.

12:15 a.m.

Russia has called for an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council over a U.S. air raid that it says struck Syrian troops battling the Islamic State group.

Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says Moscow is demanding "full and detailed explanations about whether this was deliberate support of the Islamic State or another mistake."

Zakharova was quoted by the state news agency Tass as saying that "after today's attack on the Syrian army, we come to the terrible conclusion that the White House is defending the Islamic State."

The U.S. military says it halted an air raid against IS in eastern Syria after it was informed by Russia that it might have struck Syrian troops. If confirmed, it would be the first American strike on President Bashar Assad's forces in the five-year-old conflict.

The allegations come as Moscow and Washington are already at loggerheads over a five-day-old Syrian cease-fire, with each accusing the other of failing to fully implement it.

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11:30 p.m.

The leader of an al-Qaida-linked insurgent group in Syria has condemned a U.S. and Russian-brokered cease-fire, saying it places Washington on the side of President Bashar Assad and against the Syrian people.

Abu Mohammed al-Golani is the leader of the Fatah al-Sham Front, which was previously known as the Nusra Front and claims to have severed ties with the global terror network.

In an interview with Al-Jazeera TV aired Saturday, al-Golani says the deal reached last week would allow Assad's forces to advance, while eradicating any substantial armed challenge on the ground.

Under the cease-fire agreement, the U.S. and Russia would work together to target Fatah al-Sham Front, as well as the Islamic State group, while Assad's forces refrain from striking opposition-held areas.

Golani warns that "if the U.S. takes this step, it will be in conflict not only with one faction but with the whole Syrian people."

Golani's fighters are deeply embedded in opposition areas and often fight alongside more moderate factions.

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11 p.m.

The U.S. military says it halted an air raid against the Islamic State group in eastern Syria after being told by Russia that it might have struck Syrian government forces.

The U.S. Central Command statement was issued late Saturday, after Syria and Russia said the U.S.-led coalition had struck a Syrian military base in Deir el-Zour that is surrounded by IS militants, enabling them to advance.

The statement says "the airstrike was halted immediately when coalition officials were informed by Russian officials that it was possible the personnel and vehicles targeted were part of the Syrian military."

It says "coalition forces would not intentionally strike a known Syrian military unit."

The U.S. is not known to have directly struck Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces at any point during the five-year civil war.

9:15 p.m.

A Russian Defense Ministry spokesman says 62 Syrian soldiers have been reported killed in a U.S.-led coalition airstrike on a military base.

Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov says the airstrike on Saturday took place near the Deir el-Zour airport in eastern Syria and was carried out by two F-16s and two A-10s. He did not identify the planes' country affiliation, but said they were part of the international coalition.

Konashenkov says Syrian authorities told the Russians that 62 soldiers were killed and more than 100 wounded. He says the planes came from the direction of the border with Iraq.

Russia is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government and has been carrying out airstrikes on behalf of his forces since last year.

Russia and the United States brokered a cease-fire in Syria that took effect on Monday and has largely held despite dozens of alleged violations.

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8:45 p.m.

Syria's military says the U.S.-led coalition struck its base in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour, allowing the Islamic State group to advance in the fiercely contested area.

There was no immediate comment from Washington. If confirmed, it would be the first time the coalition has targeted Syrian government forces.

In a statement Saturday, the Syrian military says the airstrikes caused casualties and damage to equipment, and enabled an IS advance on the hill overlooking the air base.

The statement calls it a "serious and blatant attack on Syria and its military" and "firm proof of the U.S. support of Daesh and other terrorist groups." Daesh is an Arabic acronym for IS.

Syrian President Bashar Assad's government views all those fighting against it as "terrorists," and has long accused the U.S. and other rebel supporters of backing extremists.

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7:30 p.m.

The Syrian government says insurgents have been firing on routes leading into the northern city of Aleppo, endangering U.N. efforts to deliver aid to besieged, rebel-held neighborhoods.

The Foreign Ministry says Saturday that the government has done all that is necessary to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, a key component of a U.S.-Russian cease-fire that took effect this week.

It says the government has worked to facilitate the entry of aid convoys to Aleppo, but that armed groups have failed to withdraw their forces from the routes they would need to use and are committing "dangerous, provocative acts."

The U.N. has accused the Syrian government of obstructing aid to the besieged Aleppo. No aid has entered since the cease-fire agreement was reached.

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6 p.m.

Activists say Syrian government forces have killed five civilians in the latest alleged violations of a U.S. and Russian-brokered cease-fire.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says a woman and child were killed Saturday in Talbiseh, in the central Homs province. It says two men were killed outside Damascus and a child was killed in Aleppo province.

The Syrian Civil Defense group in Homs says government artillery caused the deaths in Talbiseh. A video of the rescue mission shows bodies strewn across the ground.

Syria's state news agency SANA says insurgents have violated the cease-fire 12 times in the last 12 hours.

The fragile truce has largely held since it went into effect Monday, despite alleged violations on both sides.

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5:30 p.m.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry have spoken by telephone about the fragile cease-fire in Syria and efforts to deliver aid to the northern city of Aleppo.

The Russian Foreign Ministry says Lavrov told Kerry that Russia has coordinated the aid delivery with Syrian government forces and called on Washington to exercise similar influence with Syrian rebels.

Lavrov noted the "refusal by an array of illegal armed groups to join the cease-fire" and Washington's obligation to "separate units of the moderate opposition from terrorist groupings."

The cease-fire has largely held since it went into effect on Monday, bringing calm to much of the country despite dozens of alleged violations on both sides.

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5 p.m.

Israel says its Iron Dome rocket defense system has intercepted a projectile fired from inside Syria into the Israeli-controlled part of the Golan Heights.

The military says the projectile was intercepted Saturday, without elaborating. No injuries or damage were reported.

Iron Dome protects against short-range rockets, and intercepted hundreds of projectiles fired by Palestinians militants during the 2014 Gaza war. Israeli media is reporting that the system intercepted a mortar round on Saturday, and that it's the first time Iron Dome has been successfully used in the north.

Israel has largely remained on the sidelines of the Syrian war but has carried out reprisals on Syrian positions when errant fire previously landed in Israel.

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4:30 p.m.

Russia's military says Syrian rebels have violated a cease-fire 55 times over the past day, including with strikes on military and civilian targets in the divided northern city of Aleppo.

"I don't really understand why we have to keep such an agreement closed," Putin was quoted as saying Saturday during a trip to Kyrgyzstan.

He suggested Washington's resistance stems from a hope to retain the combat potential of forces fighting the Syrian government.

"This comes from the problems the U.S. is facing on the Syrian track - they still cannot separate the so-called healthy part of the opposition from the half-criminal and terrorist elements," he said. "In my opinion, this comes from the desire to keep the combat potential in fighting the legitimate government of Bashar Assad. But this is a very dangerous route."

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